Chitchat thread #24

[greenishfing]

Snoop Puss, I believe that we were on the other side from the Plaça Reial, the left hand side going up. Definitely needed to go to Specsavers, or actually, remembering the awful specs they once made for Mr GF, they probably had been there.

[Bren In Pots]

morning

That was scary end to your visit GF hope you're ok and didn't have nightmares. xx

Its all day rain here with thunder later so no gardening here again. Just though I've got a box of plant labels that need a scrub

Enjoy your day

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Dull and drizzling here. Hope you get him home soon GF. Have a good day

[greenishfing]

Good morning. Murky, dull, and drizzling here. I've just sent a message, via their website, to Mr GF's hearing aid supplier. Somehow, between getting into an ambulance here on Friday night, and arriving on his ward one of his hearing aids "got lost". The company, which supplies NHS hearing aids in this area, is usually very good. Hopefully, they will get back to me quite quickly. I'll probably ring the ward at around 10.30 before I set off to see Mr GF to see how he is doing and find out if the consultant has done her ward rounds yet.

Wow, the hearing aid company have already sent me an email. They will make him a new replica hearing aid and post it out to us.

Time for some more caffeine, I think.

[greenishfing]

Evening all.

Mr GF nearly got home today. The doctor said medically he was okay. All his infection markers are down. Then, when they asked him to stand up (he was sitting in a chair), he couldn't, despite having done so this morning with the physio. It just didn't make sense to bring him home in that condition, much as I want him here. Tomorrow morning, I have to take in a list of heights of such things as the toilet, bed, armchair, etc so that they can find ways around it. They are really working hard for him. A complete opposite of his last experience in the same hospital.

The gentleman who decided that I was his wife is still on the ward. His wife was with him today. He kept accusing HER of having an affair. In the end she walked out. To be fair, it is probably his illness that has made him paranoid and delusional, (presuming that she is not having an affair), but he was really, really, nasty to her! On a six bed ward, where the patients are generally middle aged, or old men, most of who seem to be deaf, you cannot help but get instant ideas about their lives. There's one sad-looking elderly man, who lives alone, can walk well, but had a fall. He has carers coming in. His children want him to go into a care home. He doesn't want to leave his bungalow and even his social worker doesn't see why he should.

I was listening to somebody giving a basic 'dementia' assessment to a new very elderly patient. He aced it. He could recite the months of the year backwards much faster than I could have done. As for the four line name and address she asked him to remember at the beginning, he remembered it all. I only remembered two parts.... and a third eventually.

I really should stop eavesdropping, but I have excellent hearing and sometimes it is unavoidable. Just as well my memory isn't too brilliant .... in one ear and out the other!

[Nicos]

Mornin n’alln’all

Yesterday I had a bit of a rubbish day healthwise, ending up at the GP. Looks like it’s starting to resolve due to the medication he gave me.
As you say GF….all parts of a cog…sometimes it’s clearly more well oiled than others…but when it works, it’s exceptional!
Sounding Very positive re your hubby! Thank goodness for that!

Those dementia tests are interesting…apparently under stress some people do exceptionally well…like my MIL. Even though she was dressing on top of her nightie, wandering about outside in the dark, hearing burglars, phoning the police, and on one occassion giving her dog her medication.

More leaves needing collecting today- can’t believe how many have fallen in just 48 hrs. At least we can mow and mulch the ones overhanging the lawns.

Apart from that I think I’ll have a bit of a quiet day…what’s everyone else getting up to?

Enjoy your day…I spotted the smiles earlier whizzing over head…clearly spreading some rather happy news….

[Snoop Puss]

Morning all.

That's a sad picture you paint, GF. Hope Mr GF manages to get home today.

Chilly start to the day. A bit of rain in the night but the sun is trying its best to peer through the bank of clouds.

Lots to get through today. First off, a walk with Jack and then something to eat when I get back. Quite peckish this morning for a change.

Have a great day, everyone.

[greenishfing]

Good morning.

I am just enjoying a lovely mug of coffee and crossing my fingers that today is a good day.

It's good to hear that your GP is good, Nicos. Most of ours are good, but a couple are exceptional.

I was just thinking about the different types of ward or room in a hospital. Mr GF has, on different occasions been in single rooms, two bedded (Barcelona) and 4, 5, and 6 bedded wards. On the one occasion that he was in a single room, with awful mobile reception, he was bored and lonely outside visiting hours. Since then I have always asked if he could be on a ward with other patients as he is normally very sociable. He likes to chat, and I also feel that on a ward the patients mostly help each other and there is always someone to call for help if needed. On one occasion there was a young man of about 20, who constantly had a bevy of young female visitors. There was a 2 person visitor limit. Amazingly, when the sister used to appear, the young women were all spread around chatting to the other patients. The gentleman in the end bed was the "lookout". I'm sure sister was wise to their little deception and approved.

Time for a shower now and then back to the hospital.

Have a good day everyone.

[Bren In Pots]

Morning

It sounds likes MrGF is being well looked after at the hospital. Hopefully he'll be home soon and gets the help he needs to be safe at home.

Nicos hope you have a better day with those new meds xx

A small Grory hop to top up the freezer but thats it for shopping today.

Enjoy your day

[Florence Fennel]

Good Morning All Raining here Bren. Hope you get him home very soon GF. Himself is going to see the Practice Nurse this morning for routine bloods and to see if his ears need waxing. He's very deaf in one ear, but I do wonder if it's actually deafness. His mother was deaf in one ear. My son is coming to take him there.
Hope you're feeling better today Nicos. Enjoy your breakfast Snoop.
Have a good day

[Jay22]

Morning, it’s damp and miserable this morning but I’m not complaining. Having a few long lies before the family arrive on Friday. Between one thing and another we haven’t seen them for 3 months so can’t wait for those granddaughter cuddles!
Glad to hear Mr GF is getting better. You too Nicos, glad the meds are helping.
Enjoy your day folks and will catch you later. x

[greenishfing]

Good evening.

I'm home again. For some reason the hospital car park was absolutely chock-a-block today. I drove around a couple of times and then spotted a young woman attempting, badly, to reverse into a narrow gap. She gave up. My car, not narrow, slotted in a treat very quickly. I've never had a problem reversing but must admit that reversing sensors are an extra bonus. Another bonus, the pay machines haven't been working for two days now Mr GF has been moved onto a step down ward. The staff are lovely there too. I'm going to the hospital tomorrow at 10am to meet with the occupational therapist, and Mr GF, to assess his mobility. In the afternoon I have to be back home to receive a delivery of things to make Mr GF's life easier. He may, possibly, be coming home then. Touch wood🤞🤞

As I didn't sleep well last night I think an early night is in order.

[Nicos]

Sleep well GF - nice happy thoughts there to nod off to

[Armorel]

Evening everyone

Just a quick pop in because it's late. Fingers crossed that Mr GF will be able to come home very soon and glad to hear that your meds are working well, Nicos. Hubby has just returned from a long round trip to play a match at St Just. I was expecting him back after midnight but the hosting team had two tables so they were able to get through rounds quicker. Hubby won two or his three games and his team won the match which pleased him

I am feeling a little bit despondent right now because hubby visited our old property a couple of days ago. The building contractor is setting up the site this week and part of that work involves demolishing the low wall between our raised bed and the pavement. The old bungalow is actually about five or six feet below road level and there's a 5ft wide two tier terraced bed down to a flat cobbled area in front of the property itself. It was well overgrown but there was a bay tree with a 2" thick trunk (which hubby decapitated in a fit of enthusiasm while gardening last year but which had started to grow back), a huge Roserie de L'Haie rose (heavily scented double purple untidy flowers), two small shrub roses, an enormous mahonia, a large Shasta daisy and many salmon pink hesperantha, primroses and pink primroses. They've all had to come out so the builder can shift his office container and comfort station container in as well as the heavy equipment that will move onsite next week. I KNEW all the lovely old plants had to go but I'm still a bit choked up ...

On a brighter note, we have friends coming for a couple of nights, Thursday and Friday, as a trial run for New Year. They are some of our autistic daughter's favourite people and she has known them all her life. I actually met my friend on the first day at grammar school in 1970 so we've been friends for a long time. For the last thirty five years, they have always visited us at New Year. When we lived on the islands, we had three self catering holiday apartments and a big four storey property in over half an acres of land, just 50 yards from the beach. So we had loads of space and a huge lounge with brick fireplace for roaring log fires and big Christmas tree (they had the luxury of an apartment to themselves!).

So when we bought this little bungalow as a rental and to be our home while the big works were going on, we were particularly keen on the garden office which (strange thing) comes with a wet room equipped with a smart walk in electric shower, a toilet and a tiny sink. The office is tiled throughout so we took up one of the carpets from the old bungalow and relaid it there so it's a little more homely and it reduces 'cold feet syndrome'. So they are bringing their airbed and bedding with them and hubby has extended our oak dining table with two drop-down leaves so it is bigger when we have guests. It will still be a juggling act to fit it into in the living/dining/kitchen but that's all part of the fun, isn't it?

Unfortunately Thursday and Friday now have a weather warning issued by the Met Office and the coming storm may yet be named - I think it will be Benjamin if it's named by Spain/Portugal Met Service or Bram if it's named by the UK/Eire/Netherlands. So it looks like being sunny and windy with very heavy showers. We are planning to go and see 'Mars' by Luke Jerram at Truro Cathedral and have dinner at an excellent Nepalese restaurant after. We're also hoping to visit Glendurgan Gardens as well but, if the winds are very strong, I suppose they might be closed for safety reasons.

We're also going to pop in to see friends who live in an old house with a big garden in the most beautiful woodland valley setting deep in Cornwall. They have a holiday let in a small barn and the bedroom window looked out onto the blank gable end of another bigger barn at right angles. So they asked hubby to paint a 6ft x 12ft mural of St Michael's Mount to brighten up the view of the wall, which is only about 2 metres from the window. He did a cracking job and it draws gasps of amazement from their guests when they draw back the bedroom curtains to show the mural. Our friends have been dying to see the mural so we're popping in for a cuppa while they're here.

No time for a cuppa this evening for me, it's bedtime already, but I'll brew a pot for everyone so they can help themselves when they pop in. Stay safe everyone!

[greenishfing]

Good morning all.

I'm wide awake, but as I've already had six hours uninterrupted sleep, I'm not really complaining. I might even manage another couple of hours of dozing yet, if not I'll settle for some coffee.

I had a Downton fest last night, watching the repeats that had been on TV on Sunday. Absolute escapism.

I'll be back later.